These Countries Love Basketball Over Every Other Sport 

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As a Greek, that grew up close to the Philippino neighborhood in Athens, I can assure you their love for the game is real 👊🏽

my dad (born in Lithuania) would joke that "they would put you in basketball until you were 8, if you were no good, they make you go to school."

Serbia in football: 💀 Serbia in Basketball: 🐐 Edit: as independent country

Basketball is a big sport, because it rank high in many countries. Not because it ranks nr.1 in a few.

In Lebanon we breathe basketball from toddlers to elderly

Agreed, Basketball rules in Lebanon 🇱🇧🇱🇧🇱🇧 thanks for highlighting this. Great show. Keep it up and go Olympiakos

I have faced with deaf Lebanon basketball national team and even they say that basketball is number one in their country and the deaf team is supported by their locals just like the normal team.

Filipinos are more interested in NBA than the local PBA and we are the best fans when it comes to international basketball games like fiba 😁😁

I visited Lebanon and I was shocked how basketball obsessed they are.

Greece is really big in basketball,yet football gets the most popularity

in turkey, the ranking in popularitywise is like that: 1)men football 2)men basketball 3)women volleyball 4)women basketball 5)men volleyball the ranking is successwise: 1)women volleyball 2)women basketball 3)men basketball 4)men volleyball 5)football

I have played a 5v5 tournament in the Philippines and it was crazy they celebrated a normal euro step like ankle breaker from Allen Iverson. It was a hole different experience than what I had before playing it in Germany. 150-300 people have watched the game🤯

As a Filipino, I agree with you. Philippines is a basketball crazy country. It's like a religion. I also recently started watching Europeague and I like the intensity of the game. Every game matters.

I'll give you all an Idea on how popular Basketball is in the Philippines. we have more than 42 thousand barangay/barrio or Villages here and I'd say about 80-90 percent of them have an Annual Basketball tournaments and these games are always PACKED by local supporters as every streets and corners have their own teams. and most of the basketball courts that being played at are not covered court just simple ones mostly beside the church. some even have separate leagues for the Kids, teens and Adults. we also have about 1,500 municipalities and cities here and everyone of them have their own annual tournaments. these games are competitive and riots between fans are common in these local leagues.

In Philippines, basketball is not just only a game, basketball is our life.

I'm from Uruguay. Here basketball is definitely our second biggest sport, of course behind football. There's a big basketball culture.

Do you know that the Philippine National Basketball Team is only second most popular basketball team in the country? The most popular basketball team in the Philippines is Barangay Ginebra in the PBA. It's highest recorded audience is 50,000 plus even higher when Gilas Pilipinas play in the country in the same Philippine Arena.

you have to consider south sudan. it's the youngest country in the world and they will play for the olympics. people's genetics make them very tall and they love to play basketball.

Although undoubtedly football is the most popular sport in Spain, I read the other day an interesting article that the basketball federation is the federation that has more players affiliated

Jokić brothers coming for you

I know a Filipino who has a shrine for Portland Trailblazers. What a weird love for bball lmao.

Basketball though is popular as the #2 sport in two giant countries, USA and China. That alone indicates that the popularity of basketball is underrated in alleged world sport surveys. It is also the #2 sport in many Euro, S American and African countries.

As a 43-year-old Lebanese, I've witnessed the rise of basketball, particularly sparked by the successes of El Hekmeh and Al Riyadi teams in the late 90s, notably in the Asia Cup. El Hekmeh stands out as the most successful club in the Asia Cup, clinching the title three times, with their first two victories consecutively in 1999 and 2000. Al Riyadi, although a runner-up in 1998, also secured the championship twice. This momentum in club successes laid the foundation for the achievements highlighted in the mentioned video for the national team.

I agree, even though Greeks love basket ball.Keep going your excellent job. Greetings from Greece. GREEK TEAM IS GOING TO TAKE THE EUROLEAGUE. 😊

I live in Indiana, although not a country but a state in the USA, but basketball is king here, Biddy basketball, high school, college and the Pacers. Check out the size of some of the high schools gyms here in Indiana.

As a. Serbian, who is more in basketball, I say that FOOTBALL is no. 1 in Serbia, although wee are the best in basketball.. One anegdote, foreigner whomwas visited Serbia wrote "Serbia, country of apsurds, - - they have the most beautiful girls, and there are no kids born, -- everyone is hyped on football, and they are winning in basketball,...

Basketball vs cricket fan metrics Basketball popular in : China, Lebanon, Philippines, Lithuania, South Sudan, Bahamas Huge also in (2nd sport) : Serbia, USA, Greece, Turkey, Israel, Spain, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Slovenia, Montenegro, Latvia, Estonia, Mongolia, Taiwan, Syria, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Congo, Bahrain, Uruguay, Ivory Coast, Iraq Also gaining popularity in : Japan, Australia, France, Canada, Indonesia, Vietnam, Argentina, Brazil, Germany, Italy, Finland, Korea While cricket has India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, UK, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Nepal While also gaining popularity in Australia, New Zealand, UAE, Oman and Kenya Country metric wise, basketball is more popular country by country against cricket.. population wise they have india, Pakistan and Bangladesh who already have huge followers, mainly around 1.5 to 2 billion estimated but for sure not all of those people living there like cricket a lot… meanwhile Chinese fans can cancel out Indian fans of cricket since the two are biggest population on earth… while Pakistan and Bangladesh followers can be cancel out by atleast 10 countries who followed basketball as whole such as Philippines, USA, Turkey, Spain, Nigeria, Taiwan, Egypt, Congo, South Sudan and venezuela… I don’t know why basketball was underrating at most, putting them at lower rank in terms of popularity is disrespectful… since it’s the only sport after football does have worldwide mileage, followers in every corner on earth… no way sports such as hockey, tennis, volleyball are more popular worldwide than basketball itself.. and even cricket numbers wise…

Football in Greece yes...but most success in Basketball...also in Greece is:Football,Basketball,Waterpollo,Volleyball,Handball...🇬🇷

No arguing there, in Greece football is No1, especially after the 2004 Euro success. Basketball is unquestionably No2 though, miles ahead of the third popular sport (water polo probably, some say it's volleyball...debatable)

As a Greek, while we are historically more successful at basketball, football remains the most popular sport, probably by far. I remember myself at primary school being the only basketball enthusiast in the whole class

As a Filipino, I can tell you, basketball is a religion. We are crazy about it. There was a time I slept till 4am to watch the Philippines eventually lose against Lebanon. When I was 7 I used to cry when they lost. My classmates and I often watch NBA games during class. Thousands watch pirated live streams on Facebook. Unfortunately, the PBA is dying and the system is broken.

I would give an honorable mention to Puerto Rico. Not a full country but competes independently in FIBA. There is some debate between basketball and baseball though. Baseball used to be king but nowadays I would put basketball ahead. Granted, we produce more MLB players than NBA players. However the local pro basketball league is much more popular these days than the baseball league

I would say that in Latvia when you are talking about NT it's ice-hockey where basketball is very close. But on the other hand if we talk about interest for domestic and international leagues it's basketball.

Derby Beirut: Sagesse vs Riyadi ,the 2 historical clubs with most of achievement 🇱🇧

the philippines won fiba world bronze. back in the 1950s

Basketball is the 2nd most popular game in the world after soccer...if the stupid USA send their best of the best for the Olympics that is enough as a confirmation In your country is no.1,in Serbia is no.2, but I as a Serbian would change that

Latvia is basketball right now for sure

Nadim was not very biased with his approach ! 2006 and 2010 results helped to gain popularity but the first ever Lebanese club to win asian cup and Arab championship was the main trigger to this evolution and Sagesse participation in the clubs World Cup. And that club Mr Nadim is Sagesse !! You didn’t even share with the guy some old pictures of closed roads all the way from Ghazir to Beirut !

I think there is a shift n Latvia, after the gold 3x3 Olimpics medal and success at the 5x5 WC, if they gonna get both 5x5 and 3x3 into Olympics(well 3x3 already in), we can debate Latvia as Basketball Nation in the making!

Basketball is crazy in the Philippines from Local schools, communities, and even on work (firms and organization) they have some sort of clubs or team annually playing on a league. Every street on the Philippines has some sort of basketball rim certainly 90% of our courts are improvised ones sticking on whatever post we can find. Heck, even on a far flung military garrison at the very edge of the country in the middle of nowhere there is still a rim. It's just really the most beloved sport here. given that we have a population of 110 million, It's purely height and poor grassroots program that limits us Filipinos to truly be competitive on a global level of success in basketball. Regardless... Basketball is still king in Pilipinas.

🇱🇧🇱🇧🇱🇧 But you missed the biggest club in Lebanon and Asia, Sagesse Club, with 3 Asia Cup titles (the most in history) 💚💚

Another case of Lithuanian on Latvian violence - basketball is number one in Latvia! Period!

It's very weird which countries love basketball. There are usually trends in which sports are most popular, but basketball is such a random collection of countries

In Israel Basketball is rising a lot - since the only club that was compatible was Maccabi tel aviv - it did rise in the early 2000's because there was almost no point being a fan of the team that goes to defently loose to Macabbi. In the recent years, 3 more clubs (Jerusalem, Hulon, and Hapoel tel aviv) had put a lot of money and the fan base had grew a lot, when a game between those 4 teams happen its a sold out arena for sure. And there are 2-3 more teams that compete internationally each year (excluding this year). So although soccer is #1 in fans, Basketball is the #1 in success and if Maccabi reaches final 4 you will see as many fans as possible reaching to the Berlin, paying absurd amount of money to support the team.

Y'all have to watch FIBA Asia matches between Philippines and Lebanon and there you'll find some answers. They're two of the most passionate fans in Asia.

Serbia in tennis: 🐐🐐🐐🐐 Serbia in basketball: 🐐🐐🐐🐐 Serbia in waterpolo: 🐐🐐🐐 Serbia in volleyball: 🐐🐐 Serbia in football: 🐐?

Excellent work, congrats! You didnt make the usual mistake to include in those countries Greece. In fact basketball was the first and most popular sport in Greece for a decade (1987-1997), after winning the Euro of 1987, but then the sport declined and it is, by far, 2nd after football. Of course, all Greek sports fans watch Euroleague (NOT NBA), due to its high competition and to the partcipation of two basketball powerhouses, Παναθηναικός and Ολυμπιακός. PS: I would suggest you, to make a very intrestibg investigetion, in which countries basketball is the SECOND most popular sport. For instance, this is the case in Greece, where basketball is 2nd by far from the 3rd sport.

😊 I am 7 years old and I train with Lebanon basketball was a division 1 team thank you because I'm with Leben

0:48 its in the ph We have the second longest basketball league PBA usa is the first the NBA We filipino not the most athletic or tallest person but we love hooping so much

Basketball in Germany sadly not yet

In Australia, while Bball isn’t a clear cut number 1 sport on all metrics, it’s finally overtaken Soccer in terms of participation in the country. The quality of local bball talent has also overtaken soccer. In terms of viewership, it’s overtaken soccer in terms of TV viewership & average attendance (by percentage). And Australia is the fastest growing NBA streaming market outside of the US. We’ve got high hopes for the sport in the country and if the men’s & women’s teams can continue to be successful it can solidify itself as the most popular non-AFL/NRL sport in the country.

As a Greek basketball at 1980 was the number 1 game in the country because of Nikos galis

Football is King China-India-Usa: Hold my beer..

China also for suuuure basketball is def the most popular sport

The Philippines is the biggest powerhouse of basketball in South East Asia and has been popular for many years since the US Colonization. It's home to Asia's oldest basketball league, the Philippine Basketball Association aka the PBA and that league have sponsor teams.

north korea should have been in this list

i have a high school classmate who unfriend me in facebook because Kobe and the Lakers beat the Celtics - i was a Lakers fan and he Celtics. that's how passionate Filipinos are about basketball, it can ruin friendships. 😂

football is king in greece, but basketball is a close second. Also keep in mind, all the major clubs here have teams in both football and basketball (and volleyball and waterpolo, etc), so fans of oly, pao, etc support their club in all sports

Estonia for some reason still tries to be good at football, but were garbage. I dont know why we dont just focus on basketball.

i wouldve exxpected Steve Kerr to have an influence on the basketball culture of Lebanon, this was a good video

here in the Philippines basketball is played everywhere, rain or shine, even during flooding

Everything that was said about the Philippines are true except for the PBA. The professional league is no longer a big deal here. It's been declining dramatically due to greed and incompetency of its leaders. They can't even fill up a 5000 seater venue even on a Sunday. Most pro Filipino players would rather play in Japan and Korea for much better pay and competition. But other than that, basketball is a religion here. It's even impossible to grasp or describe how Filipinos love the game. It's so beloved that even the counterfeit sneakers, 2nd hand sneakers or thrift shoes and jersey making business have their own economy here.

Here in the Philippines 🇵🇭 Soccer ⚽ 😅 But Basketball 🏀 😎 Billiards 🎱 👍🏻 Boxing 🥊 🏆 Cycling 🚲 💪🏻

For Greece , the duel between basketball and football is really close, although yes, football is at the top.

You should have 9M new subscribers. Love from the Philippines.

In Greece football is by far the most popular sport

I wish Basketball was more popular here in Germany. Obviously Football is the undefeated King. After that you have stuff like Tennis and some Winter Sports. Based of viewing numbers most likely even Formula 1 and American Football. Basketball seems to grow slowly, especially after our World Cup win last year, and us now getting two NBA Games a week on Free TV, but we still got long ways to go.

RESPECT MY LITUANIAN FELLAAAA. LEBANON MENTIONED BASKETBALL N1 🌲🌲🦅 WTF IS FOOTBALLL. Lebanese national football team is ranked 150 WHAT A SHAME to compare it to basketball. Lebanese basketball NT is ranked 28😤😤😤😤 JUST TO ADD ALSO IN LEBANON THEY PLAY OFFICIAL FOOTBALL GAMES ON ARTIFICIAL GRASS THERE IS NO SINGLE STADIUM APPROVED BY FIFA

In the Philippines you could find a half court in every corner of the street.

For my opinion; Germany, Serbia, Iran, Spain, and Greece are mostly onto Football. Because they always host the Europa. And governments on that countries mostly funds football.

110million people in the Philippines and like 100million player had played basketball..

There was a time during the mid 90s that basketball was no1 here in Greece. It was a little bit after the 87 European Championship, and the first club European sucesses, with Aris mostly and PAOK. In the mid 90s OLY and PAO took over with cosecutive Euroleague (or FIBA European Champion's Cup as it was called) F4 appearances and titles,. Aris and PAOK won a couple less major titles (Like Corac and Cup winner's cup) but other "smaller" clubs (like Panionios or Iraklis)had European success also. I remeber, as a teenager back then, that almost every day there were 2-3 basketball games on TV.

So now I know. Thats why Gilas Filipinas players would love to come to Lituania for practice and friendly games because we have one thing in common, our number sport is basketball.

the thing is from what i know in the balkans at least there is love for the club whitch translates to love or at least support for every sport the team competes in but thats for the true fans of the clubs

In Greece, Greek Basketball National Team is called "Official Sweetheart".

It's true the Filipinos are passionate about basketball.

It is true. (as a Filipino)

im in the video im the kid in a black and white jersey in lithunia (it was five years ago).

You forgot to mention that Philippines is the most succesful asian country in international level if we will discuss about the highest placed rank in Fiba World Cup (3rd place) and Olympics (5th place)

I am proud to be Lebanese and I am proud to be a basketball fan❤❤🇱🇧🇱🇧🇱🇧🏀🏀🏆🏆🏆🏅🏅

The Bahamas and Marshall Islands are another 2 countries that basketball is allegedly more popular in according to the webpage shown at 5:42, even though it looks like it might not be 100% accurate based on the information you've shared about it likely being incorrect in regards to Lebanon

I love El Khatib and Arakji. I love their game and I'm Filipino.

I'm surprised Puerto Rico wasn't mentioned. They've had multiple NBA players and have the honor of being the first team to beat a "Dream team" in the 2006 Olympics. Also Puerto Rico is the only colony to have international representation. The local league, BSN is insanely competitive and attracts attendance similar to the Euroleague's.

France: football… sorry handball…. sorry volleyball… sorry we’ve got too much team sports we’re good at 😅

for sure basketball is numb 1 in lebanon, and you can check also duop reath team in lebanon before going to the nba this season

in my perspective legit number#1 🇵🇭Philippines 🇱🇧Lebanon 🇱🇹Lithuania 🇸🇸South Sudan Number #1 or Number #2 🇷🇸Serbia 🇸🇾Syria 🇪🇸Spain 🇲🇳Mongolia 🇬🇷Greece 🇵🇷Puerto Rico 🇻🇪Venezuela 🇹🇷Turkey 🇹🇼Chinese Taipei 🇱🇻Latvia 🇪🇪Estonia 🇺🇲USA 🇲🇬Madagascar 🇦🇴 Angola Number #2 or Number#3 🇨🇳China 🇯🇴Jordan 🇦🇺Australia 🇨🇦Canada 🇮🇱Israel 🇮🇷Iran

Honestly if investors focus on marketing the euroleague more than the nba they can see the potential growth of basketball as a whole It will be the equivalent of the champions league if all the best players in the world play there even the americans

Agree philippines love basketball lakers nation.

There is no debate around Lebanon! Lebanon is crazy basketball Nation! Number 1 sport, no debate!

you forgot philippines is the only country in asia who had a medal podium in world cup, though almost a century that feat was never been duplicated but still we are hopefully we can do it again.

Basketball is life! 🇵🇭👍

What about South Sudan? I know, its a new country and you probably do not get much data from it. But when you look at the excitement for Basketball in the past years and compare it to other sports, one can probably argue that Basketball is the most famous sport there. If I'm wrong, than please correct me :)

I'm Filipino and if they took the 8.4 unique viewers data from subscriptions then it's probably be much more, it's probably 1 subscription = 1 watch party.

Words can't describe how Filipinos love basketball 🏀🇵🇭

I am surprised Slovenia was not on this list.

Here in Lebanon we're on the horizon of a new golden age so things will only get better🇱🇧🇱🇧

In Serbia football is no 1 and it is the only sport where we arent good historicaly ... but basketball is like a tradition here , every village and town have annual tournaments that are being played for decades . A huge persentage of people like myself wath both football and basketball religiously so the gap is not that big

South Sudan will be a basketball first country in the future as they produce giants and are the best in africa

In the philippines basketball is not just a part of a culture but also a religion